Ex-Boston FBI chief Kenneth Kaiser pleads guilty in ethics case

FILE - A May 7, 2003 file photo of Kenneth Kaiser, the former head of the Boston FBI, shows him at his Boston office. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)AP

BOSTON (AP) — The former head of the Boston FBI office has pleaded guilty to an ethics charge in a plea agreement that spares him from prison time but seeks a $15,000 fine.

Kenneth Kaiser pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge Thursday in federal court. He declined to comment after the hearing.

Kaiser was the special agent in charge of the Boston office from 2003 until 2006. He will be sentenced in December.

Prosecutors allege that within a year of retiring in 2009 and going to work for a private company, Kaiser had professional contact with FBI agents investigating the company.

The ethics law prohibits senior executive branch personnel from making contact with the agency they were employed by for one year after leaving government service. The maximum penalty is one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.